Zen Meditation Retreat
Sesshin Talks
A sesshin (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) retreat in a Japanese Zen monastery, or in a Zen monastery or Zen center that belongs to one of the Japanese Zen traditions outside of Japan.
While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, during a sesshin they devote themselves almost exclusively to zazen practice. The numerous 30- to 50-minute-long meditation periods are interleaved with short rest breaks, meals, and sometimes short periods of work (Japanese: 作務 samu) all performed with the same mindfulness; nightly sleep is kept to a minimum, at six hours or fewer. During the sesshin period, the meditation practice is occasionally interrupted by the master giving public talks (teisho) and individual direction in private meetings (which may be called dokusan, daisan, or sanzen) with a Zen Master.
In modern Buddhist practice in Japan and the West, sesshins are often attended by lay students and are typically one, three, five, or seven days in length. Seven-day sesshins are held several times a year at many Zen centers, especially in commemoration of the Buddha's awakening to full enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi). At this Rohatsu sesshin, practitioners seek to relax and quiet the mind to the point of cessation of mental chatter and emotional impulse, samadhi, kensho, or satori.
Title | Speaker | |
---|---|---|
January 23rd, 2018, Serial No. 04410 Ceremony, Stillness, Sesshin |
Jan 23 2018 |
|
December 11th, 2011, Serial No. 03916 Suzuki Roshi, Sesshin, difficulty |
Dec 11 2011 |
|
The Bodhisattva's Creativity and Freedom Fox, Bodhisattva Vow, Sesshin, Suzuki Roshi, Attachment |
Dec 08 2011 The Yoga Room |
|
November 16th, 2010, Serial No. 03801 Sesshin, Intimacy, Practice Period |
Nov 16 2010 |
|
December 7th, 2007, Serial No. 03506 Priest, Sesshin, Stillness |
Dec 07 2007 |